Moyra Tamsin Dunwoody (born 3 September 1958), sometimes known as Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey, is a British

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician who served as the

Member of the National Assembly for Wales A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd ...

for

Preseli Pembrokeshire Preseli Pembrokeshire (, ; cy, Preseli Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed in West Wales from 1974 to 1996. Until 1987 the name of the district was Preseli. The district took its name from the Preseli Hills. Creation Th ...

from

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. She served in the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

from 2005 to 2007 as the Deputy Minister for Environment, Planning and Countryside and Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Transport. Dunwoody unsuccessfully stood to succeed her mother,

Gwyneth Dunwoody Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody (née Phillips; 12 December 1930 – 17 April 2008) was a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter from 1966 to 1970, and then for Crewe (later Crewe and Nantwich) from February 1 ...

, as the Labour candidate in the

2008 Crewe and Nantwich by-election The 2008 Crewe and Nantwich by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 22 May 2008, for the House of Commons constituency of Crewe and Nantwich, in Cheshire, England. The election was won by the Conservative party candidate Edward Timp ...

Early life

Dunwoody was born in

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, the daughter of the late Labour MPs

, and Dr John Dunwoody. Both of her parents lost their parliamentary seats at the 1970 general election, although her mother went on to represent

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

and its successor,

Crewe and Nantwich Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population (2001 census) of 111,007. It contained 69 civ ...

for 34 years until she died. Through her mother she is the granddaughter of former Labour Party General Secretary

Morgan Phillips Morgan Walter Phillips (18 June 1902 – 15 January 1963) was a colliery worker and trade union activist who became the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, involved in two of the party's election victories. Life Born in Aberdare, Gl ...

and Norah Phillips. She was educated at the

Grey Coat Hospital The Grey Coat Hospital is a Church of England secondary school with academy status for girls in Westminster, London, England. It is a specialist Language College. History The school was formally established at the Trustees' first meeting hel ...

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

girls' school in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

. She has five children.

Professional career

Dunwoody trained in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

, and worked in London hospitals for nearly 15 years. She has also been an adviser to small businesses in west Wales and lived in

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

Political career

100px, upleft, Dunwoody-Kneafsey in 2003 Dunwoody was elected (under the name Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey) as

Assembly Member Assembly Member or AM may refer to: * A Member of the London Assembly (2000–pres.) *A Member of the Tobago House of Assembly (1980–pres.) Defunct titles * A Member of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2020), now Member of th ...

for

from 2003 to 2007. In October 2005 she was appointed Deputy Minister for Environment, Planning and Countryside and Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Transport in the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

. She was defeated in the 2007 election by Conservative Party candidate

Paul Davies Paul Charles William Davies (born 22 April 1946) is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, a professor in Arizona State University and Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. He is affiliated with the Institute ...

. She was selected as the Labour candidate at the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, held on 22 May 2008, which was triggered by the death of her mother. She lost to Conservative candidate

Edward Timpson Anthony Edward Timpson, (born 26 December 1973) is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Eddisbury in Cheshire at the 2019 general election. He was previously MP for neighbouring Crewe a ...

, by 7,860 votes marking the first Conservative Party parliamentary by-election victory in a Labour-held constituency since 1978. The last parliamentary by-election in which the Conservatives had gained a seat previously held by another party was in 1982, in

Mitcham and Morden Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. I ...

. She uncessfully sought the Labour nomination for

Islwyn The Borough of Islwyn was one of five local government districts of Gwent from 1974 to 1996. History The borough was formed in 1974 as a local government district of Gwent. It covered the whole area of three former districts and part of a four ...

ahead of the 2010 general election.

References

Offices held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunwoody, Tamsin 1958 births Living people Wales AMs 2003–2007 Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Female members of the Senedd Members of the Welsh Assembly Government Alumni of the University of Kent People from Totnes People educated at Grey Coat Hospital Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Women members of the Welsh Assembly Government